The China-US relationship is about more than just trade. While the proposed tariffs on China’s exports into the US represent an effort to correct the trade imbalance between the two countries, what’s just as important is the investment relationship which has expanded in recent years, says Faryar Shirzad, global co-head of the Office of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs. Bilateral investment, particularly for the US, is important because it creates jobs and improves two-way trade, he notes. “To the extent to which the tensions between the US and China impede further investment, it actually frustrates the goal of the US policymakers, because it becomes harder for the US to sell the things that it has a comparative advantage in.”

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Faryar Shirzad

Global Co-head, Office of Government Affairs and Chief of Staff for EMEA, Goldman Sachs

However one assesses what’s happening currently in terms of the noise on trade issues, it's likely that the resolution will be one in which both sides will work very hard to find a mutually beneficial outcome.